Moving to a new apartment is supposed to be exciting. For Uti Favour, it was anything but. Weeks of searching, hopping from one property to another, multiple agent fees, scams at every turn, it was stressful, exhausting, and entirely frustrating. “It took us over a month just to find a place,” Favour recalls, shaking his head. “And that was just the start.”
That personal ordeal lit a spark. A spark that would become Homeswift, a property tech platform aimed at solving the very problems he and his family had faced. But Favo didn’t stop there; he wanted to understand if others were going through the same pain.
From frustration came opportunity. From opportunity came vision. And from vision came a partnership with three other young men who shared his drive: Bredan, a full-stack developer, and Divine, a UI/UX designer. Together, CEO: UTI FAVOUR
CTO: NWANZE BRENDAN and CPO: EDIKE DIVINE began to imagine a platform that could redefine the rental experience in Asaba and then in Delta State.
The Birth of an Idea: From Frustration to Vision
Uti Favour’s frustration wasn’t unique. At DevFest Asaba, he heard another participant vent about similar struggles. “It clicked immediately,” he says. “People were going through the same pain I experienced. And that’s when I thought: why not build a better way?”
He pitched the idea to Bredan, a full-stack developer, and Divine, a UI/UX designer. Together, they formed a team where skills complemented each other perfectly: Favour brings strategy and business insight, Bredan handles the technical build, and Devine ensures the product is intuitive and visually engaging. “We connected instantly,” He recalls. “Even though we come from different fields, our goals and the energy in our conversation is palpable. Favour talks strategy, Brendan talks code, Divine talks design. They complement each other in ways that feel almost effortless. “It was a coincidence, but not really,” Bredan says about their meeting. “We just connected. The way we think, the way we approach problems, it’s all aligned.”
Solving Real Problems
At the heart of HomeSwift is a simple, yet revolutionary idea: rent a house seamlessly from your phone, verify the property, make payments, and finalise everything digitally. No scams. No unnecessary middlemen. Just transparency and trust.
Favour explains, “but we want a system where everyone wins, the renter, the landlord, and yes, even the agent. Many agents are honest; some are feeding their families. But there are gaps in the market that expose people to fraud. We’re here to fill those gaps.”
And the gaps are real. Many landlords in Asaba, especially older ones, are not tech-savvy. Some agents even act independently of property owners, collecting inflated rents and leaving landlords unaware. “If even one landlord experiences HomeSwift and sees how smooth it is, that story spreads,” Brendan adds, highlighting the ripple effect they hope to achieve.
Carrying Users Along: Research, Education, and Feedback
Their approach is meticulous. They conduct surveys, host events, and carry their users along at every step. Favour emphasises the human element: “We’re not building for robots. We’re building for real people. Renters, landlords, partners, we need to understand their pain points and create solutions that actually work.”
Even at the MVP stage, they are experimenting with partnerships. Fudan Hotel, for example, provides access to available rooms, helping HomeSwift test its system in real-life conditions. And their plans don’t stop there. In five years, the team envisions a fully automated, AI-integrated platform that could redefine the property market in Nigeria, just as fintech disrupted banking and e-commerce disrupted retail.
Education is also a cornerstone of their strategy. Many landlords don’t know a solution like HomeSwift exists, so the team is creating content, hosting workshops, and showing people what’s possible. “You can build the best solution in the world,” Favo notes, “but if people don’t know it exists, it doesn’t matter. We need to carry everyone along.”
And while the focus is on technology, there’s a deep sense of responsibility in their words. HomeSwift isn’t just a startup; it’s a mission to restore trust in a fragmented market, to simplify processes, and to empower users to make informed decisions.
“We’re solving a real problem,” Favour concludes. “People have been struggling for years to find homes in Asaba. We’re here to make it easy, safe, and efficient. And we believe that when we get this right, it won’t just transform housing, it will transform lives.”
Disrupting Real Estate: A New Standard for Nigeria
HomeSwift is positioning itself as a pioneer in PropTech in Delta State. The platform’s long-term goal is full automation and AI integration. “We’ve seen disruption in fintech, e-commerce, and other industries. Real estate is next,” Favour says. “In five years, we want HomeSwift to be the go-to platform for seamless renting and buying, offering verified listings, transparent payments, and AI-driven recommendations.”
The team is even considering escrow payments, a system that ensures renters verify the property before the landlord receives funds. This minimises fraud and builds trust, a major pain point in Nigeria’s property market.
Challenges and Opportunities: Balancing the Ecosystem
The path isn’t without challenges. Older landlords may struggle with technology. Agents may resist regulation or feel threatened. But the founders are committed to creating a win-win system. Education, transparency, and careful onboarding of agents and landlords are central to their approach.
Brendan adds, “We’re not eliminating middlemen or agents as we call them. We are simply regulating and streamlining the process so that everyone benefits. That’s how we make it sustainable.”
The market is ready. Renters are eager for solutions, landlords are open once they understand the system, and agents who play by the rules can still thrive. “It’s about creating a better ecosystem,” Favour says.
The Future: AI, Data, and Long-Term Vision
HomeSwift isn’t thinking small. Beyond digitisation, the team is building data systems to inform AI models, ensuring the platform evolves with market trends. Automation, predictive analytics, and user-focused design will help HomeSwift anticipate problems, provide solutions proactively, and create an unmatched user experience.
“We’re thinking ten steps ahead,” Favo emphasises. “Automation, AI, data-driven decision making, we want HomeSwift to anticipate problems before they happen. To give people peace of mind. We’re not just building a product; we’re building the future of property tech in Nigeria.”
From Personal Pain to Market Transformation
What started as a frustrating month-long search for an apartment has become a mission to redefine real estate in Delta State. HomeSwift is more than an app; it’s a movement. It’s three young founders combining strategy, technology, and design to build trust, transparency, and convenience into an industry long plagued by inefficiency and fraud.
For Favour, Brendan, and Divine, this is just the beginning. The goal isn’t just to facilitate rentals, it’s to create a new standard for property tech in Nigeria. And if their passion, vision, and meticulous approach are any indication, HomeSwift is on the fast track to doing just that.
HomeSwift, beyond being a tech solution to a pressing problem in their city, is the embodiment of frustration turned into innovation, a student project that grew into a movement, and a vision for a property tech industry that puts people first. For Favour, Bredan, and Divine, this is just the beginning.
Read Also: https://techsudor.com/delta-tech-week-a-growing-ecosystem-finding-its-voice/
